


Early Morning, London Skyline

by nerakrose



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Community: rs_small_gifts, M/M, Steampunk, fest: rs_small_gifts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-09
Updated: 2011-12-09
Packaged: 2017-11-04 04:34:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/389798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerakrose/pseuds/nerakrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sirius and Remus are patrolling the East English airspace when they get summoned for a top-secret mission.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Early Morning, London Skyline

**Author's Note:**

> Non-magical steampunk AU based on [this artwork](http://rs-games.dreamwidth.org/25121.html). Written for littlewolfstar for rs_small_gifts, originally posted [here](http://rs-small-gifts.livejournal.com/133684.html).  
> Anachronisms galore. All sorts of liberties were taken with history and technological advances, as one would expect of a steampunk fic. Set on the brink between the Victorian and Edwardian era. Spoilery notes at the end.
> 
> art by [epithalamium](http://archiveofourown.org/users/epithalamium) for this fic:  
>   
> ♥

_Europe is at war._

_Britain (with a forced Irish inclusion) is allied with Czechoslovakia, France, Italy and Spain. Czechoslovakia broke it off with the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1899 in order to be friendly with Britain - reasoning that its fashion was fancier and its tea tastier. France was easily bribed to let go of centuries' worth of animosity in exchange for sterling silver - Britain is, after all, quite fond of French wine and champagne and an agreement was easily reached. Italy had nothing else to do and Spain was in because France was._

_The Austro-Hungarian Empire is generally a bit bewildered and doesn't quite know what to do about anything, especially since Czechoslovakia eloped._

_The Benelux countries chose to be neutral. However, they are generally on France's side and therefore indirectly pro-Britain, even though they'd never admit to it._

_Switzerland, as usual, refuses to comment._

_Scandinavia, in general, is neutral - albeit Denmark and Sweden are still fighting each other - but takes in refugees. Parts of Germany are warring Britain with some support from Denmark as it never quite forgave England for the Bombardment on Copenhagen in 1807. Outwardly, Denmark opposes Rasputin and supports the Romanovs due to royal kinship, thus rendering itself a backstabbing nation that plays with what pays off best (especially if it also pwns Sweden)._

_Rasputin, who not so much usurped the Russian throne as sneaked onto it while no one was looking, is allied with everyone he's occupied and/or threatened. Ukraine and Belarus are his main allies. Poland is neutral on the outside for the sake of appearances, but everybody knows it's on Rasputin's side._

_Germany is in conflict with itself. Some regions are at war with Britain, some aren't at war with anyone (but rather with other regions) and others are looking longingly towards Russia. The emperor has no power to unite the nation and so he sits back and lets things happen, hoping for the best._

_The Baltic countries and Finland are neutral but (very secretly) on Britain's side. (Don't tell Sweden.)_

_The Ottoman Empire resolutely refuses to be part of any European shenanigans and spends its time lounging on ottomans, burning incense and drinking tea, while facepalming at Europe in general._

_The big players in this three-way drama, pan-European war, are as follows: ~~Russia~~ Rasputin, Britain and Germany. Britain is the white knight in the play, hell bent on saving Europe from madness, Rasputin is the psychotic megalomaniac and Germany is the unwitting pawn of Rasputin, acting on the belief that Britain intends to occupy German regions in order to gain access to wood and Lederhosen, though no one seems to know why Britain (and England in particular) is interested in German fashion._

_And our heroes?_

_Sirius Black is a perfectly normal English bloke, who just happens to both be in denial and the most talented sky captain in the Order of Phoenix. He is also a heir to a fortune, though he doesn't like to talk about it. His best friend is James Potter, a young man prone to melodramatics when under stress._

_Remus Lupin is also a perfectly normal English bloke, though less in denial. He is Sirius' other best friend, as well as he is a biological warfare expert. Why he's continually tagging along with Sirius is a bit of a mystery to everyone (except Remus himself), but no one is really complaining._

_The Order of the Phoenix is the Queen's Special Force, a secret squad that no one really knows what does or is. Its members are positioned all over Europe in positions of power, influence or observation. Lily Evans is one such person._

_It is when Rasputin, our moste evile villain, discovers a potential weapon for mass destruction, that this story starts. Follow our heroes as they attempt to save not only Europe, but the world..._

__

  
**I**  


London loomed on the horizon, the sky above a brilliant, blood red. It was partly illuminated by the setting sun and partly darkened by the London smog. The city was dreary to look at; dark and, even if it wasn't visible in the darkness, grimy. Only the Palace of Westminster was golden as it stretched upwards and out of the gloom, the last rays of the sun brightening its spires. Sirius steered the Prometheus towards it, humming softly under his breath. He was obviously pleased, despite the chill in the air, the ominous sky - not so much ominous as simply polluted, Remus thought - and the somberness of their city.

"Have you heard, Moony?" Sirius suddenly called out. "They're proposing to run trains on _electricity_! Have you ever heard anything as ridiculous?"

"I happen to like electricity," Remus replied, glancing at the scroll of parchment he was supposed to be studying. A fountain pen was precariously balanced over his left ear but he caught it before it fell and absent-mindedly scribbled something in the margin of the document. "It's what makes our lightning cannons work, after all."

"This will be the end of my beloved Baker Street and Waterloo Railway." Sirius sighed dramatically. "No more coal fumes! Can you imagine that?"

Remus shook his head exasperatedly and it finally registered within him where exactly they were going. "Sirius, why are we headed towards Westminster Palace?"

"Because we're going to Westminster Palace," Sirius replied cheerfully.

"And where are you going to moor the ship? Big Ben?" Remus got up, gesticulating towards the tower. "There's no air ship mooring in the city centre, you daft thing."

"Where there is a tower, there is a place to fasten one's rope," Sirius sang and turned the ship sideways, so that it could glide up next to the tower. "Grab the rope, will you?"

"I can't believe you're doing this. No wait, actually I can. You're paying if we get imprisoned."

"There's a spire right over there you can tie it to."

Remus sent Sirius a withering look before he rolled up the parchment and went to get the rope. After three tries and much sniggering from Sirius, the rope was in its place and Remus was winding the winch. The ship moved slowly closer to the tower, the spire bending more and more under the strain.

"If this breaks -" Remus started and was then rudely cut off by the loud sound of something snapping. He didn't have time to express his frustration as the winch suddenly pulled the rope in faster and Remus fell over with the momentum and crashed to the floor. The broken spire on the end of the rope flew over the railing and hit him with a low thud. "I hate you," Remus muttered, scrambling up from the heap he'd formed on the floor. "I hate you and your stupid ideas."

"Oops," Sirius said, not showing the remotest hint of remorse, and helped Remus up. "You all right? Ok, let's try some other spire."

"Is that Scotland Yard down there?" Remus remarked nonchalantly and when Sirius turned to look, Remus smacked him over the head.

"Ow!" Sirius rubbed his head, scowling. "What was that for?"

"I figured you deserved it." Remus' lip curled up in satisfaction. He turned and gave Big Ben a critical look. "We should try those two spires over there."

"You're the man." Sirius bowed theatrically, gesturing towards the tower and Remus went to secure the rope once more, kicking the winch as he did so.

Remus noticed out of the corner of his eye that men in dark clothes and helmets were gathered on the ground. They blended in with the darkness between the buildings, but the gaslights reflected off the shiny badges on their helmets gave them away. "That _is_ Scotland Yard down there," he said after having battled the rope and the spires for a while.

"I'm not falling for that again, Moony."

"I'm not kidding." Remus threw the rope for the sixth time, this time managing to get it around both spires at once. "They don't look happy."

"Hm, so it is. And they don't, do they?" Sirius gave them a long look. "That's all right."

"They're going to arrest you," Remus pointed out gleefully. "And this time I'm not bailing you out."

"I hate when you do that." Sirius rolled the rope ladder out. "Coming?" He gestured downwards.

"What, right into the arms of Scotland Yard?"

"Scotland Yard is on the ground, shaking their fists and truncheons at us. Ergo, not up here." Sirius swung his leg over the railing and started climbing down. "Also," he said, pausing to give Remus a wide grin, "I was told specifically to bring my germ friend."

"It's biological warfare expert!" Remus muttered as he clambered over the railing to join Sirius. "It's not that hard to - wait. _James_ contacted you!"

"'Course it was James. Who else?" Sirius jumped down and dusted himself off. He peered into the tower, finding it empty, then up at Remus who was slowly making his way down the rope ladder. "Very limber, Moony. Graceful. Majestic."

"Ha ha," Remus said as he touched ground. "I hate rope ladders. Couldn't you have installed one of those new mechanic ones?"

"Weighs too much." Sirius shrugged and cast a glance up at the ship. "Hm. Maybe we should've taken the sails down. Oh, to hell with it. Come on. Let's go see what Prongs has got in store for us."

"If Scotland Yard don't arrest you first, that is."

"They won't," Sirius replied confidently as he pushed his goggles onto the top of his head. Remus wanted to smack him again.

They found James in Kingsley Shacklebolt's office.

"Hey guys!" Sirius greeted cheerfully, though he sobered up at the stern look from Kingsley. "I mean of course, how are you doing, most graceful fellows?"

James grinned, even if he seemed a little paler than usual, and Kingsley shook his head. Remus furtively stole a glance at the neat rows of fountain pens on his desk. He inched closer.

"Behave yourself, Sirius," Kingsley said. "I've got Scotland Yard just outside and I promise you, they'll be here in seconds if I give them even the faintest reason to. I hardly need to remind you they're still grumpy you got away with the Sewer Episode."

"Hello, Kingsley," Remus said, stepping forward before Sirius could open his gob and say something stupid. "I was told you need me?"

"Yes," Kingsley answered heavily and gestured for James to go ahead. He stepped forwards and cleared this throat.

"You know the Romanovs?"

Remus straightened up, apprehension settling in every fiber of his body. "The Russian imperial family? Yes, of course."

"Then you know they've dedicated their lives and science to the discovery of a cure for haemophilia," James said. His face was rapidly losing more and more colour. "They haven't yet found the cure, but they've discovered something else - the isolated haemophilia gene can be attached to a certain virus..." he produced a scrap of parchment from his inside pocket. "...the Chapare arenavirus," he enunciated carefully.

"A virus that causes shock and excessive bleeding," Remus breathed. "It's deadly; the mortality rate is 30%. Combined with the haemophilia gene...the mortality rate is 100%, or as good as." He absent-mindedly picked up one of Kingsley's pens and fiddled with the cap. "This new strain - this mutation - of the arenavirus...there would be no cure. It could wipe out entire villages -"

"Exactly," Kingsley interjected. "It has come to our attention that Rasputin has discovered this potential weapon. The Romanovs left Moscow in haste last night, with the help of our man - woman, I haste to add - in the Palace. They're in a safehouse right now, but they must leave Russia. Rasputin has access to the Tsar's secrets and it is only a matter of time before he finds out which safehouse to go to."

"And it is for this reason you summoned me?" Sirius spoke up. "I am only the best sky captain in the Order, after all." He grinned, but the desperate look on James' face quickly wiped it off his face.

Kingsley rubbed his face. "Your vessel is the smallest in the fleet," he stated. "You'll be able to get under the radars, unlike the rest of the fleet. Take Remus with you, he's a decent shot. No one else -" Kingsley looked hard at James, who'd been about to speak up. " _No one_ else. Too many cooks spoil the broth. You will leave immediately. James will give you instructions and _remain behind_ ; don't think I don't know what you're planning, James Potter."

James' jaw set defiantly, but Kingsley glared him into submission. "Fine," James spat and turned on the heel, walking straight out the door. Sirius instantly followed, but Remus paused to nod to Kingsley before leaving.

He found them further down the hall, James pacing the floor and Sirius attempting to calm him down.

"Lily is with them!" James suddenly roared. "And he expects me to - he thinks -"

Remus put Kingsley's pen into his pocket. "You are our communicator," he said firmly, putting a hand on James' arm. "You're our link - and Lily's link - to safety. You know that if you come along, you'll lose that link, and all of us would be fumbling in the darkness. _Think_ , James."

James swallowed hard. "But it's Lily," he said dejectedly. "And that - that _madman_ is after her."

"We'll get her. I promise." Sirius spoke softly. "I'll look after her for you."

"You promise?" James croaked, wild-eyed.

"I swear on Moony's grave," he replied gravely, earning a snort from Remus and James both.

"I'm charmed," Remus said dryly, then patted James' back. "I'll look out for that idiot there and see to it that we get the job done."

"You wound me." Sirius pouted and Remus rolled his eyes.

"Says he who swears on my grave. Man up, Prongs, and tell us where to go."

*

Remus gazed over the dark shapes that was London and the deep purple of the night sky, too distracted to realise he was again fiddling with Kingsley's fountain pen until he'd accidentally loosened the ink reservoir and gotten ink all over his fingers and cuffs.

"That's what you get for stealing pens," Sirius said from behind, handing him a handkerchief. "I was putting my money on five more minutes before that happened. My debt to Archie now runs up to 12 pounds."

"Archie is an inanimate object." Remus wiped his fingers on the kerchief but had to give up the cuffs for lost.

"Shh, you're hurting his feelings!" Sirius glanced over his shoulder and made a soft, sad sound. "Look at him! You should apologise."

"I will not apologise to a lamp."

Sirius scoffed and only then did Remus realise that he wasn't at the wheel.

"Sirius," he said tightly. "If you're in here, who is controlling the ship?"

"My scarf."

"Your scarf."

"I tied it to the wheel, you see, and then to the railing, so the wheel can't turn on its own accord," Sirius explained enthusiastically. "It's very cool. I should patent it. And call it auto-pilot."

"You, my friend, are a loon." Remus sighed exasperatedly and not completely without fear for his life.

"Moony!" Sirius whined. "It's _brilliant_. And anyway, I'm too lazy to stand there all night. I intend to sleep until we reach somewhere around...Ukraine or Finland. Which should be sometime tomorrow."

"Ukraine or Finland," Remus repeated, dubious.

"I can't control the wind, you know!" Sirius threw his hands up in despair. "Ye gods!" He stalked off towards the door to the bedchamber.

Remus sighed and balled up the handkerchief, throwing it after Sirius' retreating back. His heart gave a tiny, wistful pang and Remus turned to look out the window again.

*

He woke up to the sound of distant shouts and loud cracks, discovering he'd fallen asleep over his journal and not in his bed and that the petroleum lamp had gone out, leaving him in almost complete darkness. He raised his head groggily, looking around with a frown and trying to discern where the noises were coming from.

It was only when a particularly loud crack shook the mast of the ship that Remus fully awoke and realised they were under attack, and if not, then very close to one.

"Sirius!" he cried, leaping towards where he knew the armory trunk was and hastily pulling out a lightning cannon. It gleamed in the moonlight and occasional flashes of light coming from the outside.

A low thud came from the bedchamber, followed by a string of swear words and what sounded like a kick to the bedframe. Remus hauled out the other cannon and so when Sirius came racing through the door, he grabbed it and slung the strap around himself.

"Who?" he asked, but Remus shook his head. Sirius made a face, already halfway up on deck.

Remus ran after him.

Once up on deck it became very apparent that they were not under attack, but that someone else was. On Prometheus' starboard side, about one league away, there were two large airships amids flashes of bright white light, set against the backdrop of a dark cloud. There was a large flame licking up a sail on one of the ships, but the sail was dropped and the flame seemingly extinguished.

Sirius swore loudly.

"Are we going to do something?" Remus asked, picking up Sirius' spyglass to study the flags. "The one on the left seems to be Welsh. I'm not sure; the flag is torn and it's too dark to see properly."

"And the other?"

"...some kind of German. I don't recognise the region, but it's got the German imperial sign in the upper right corner...I'm guessing it's one of the regions we're actually at war with," Remus said grimly. "They seem to be on the winning side." He turned to face Sirius, but found him gone. It didn't take him long to discover that he was at the wheel, untying his scarf from it.

"We've got to help them. Give me a hand, Moony, we need to get closer."

Remus was sure - no, he _knew_ \- that Kingsley had ordered them to go _straight_ to Russia, no dawdling, no sightseeing and certainly _no_ random heroic deeds.

He was pretty sure this fell into the last category.

With Remus' help, Sirius steered the ship towards the Maybe Welsh airship, taking care to go slowly enough to not crash into them or alert them to their presence. Prometheus' sails were dark and all lights were off, but an attentive spectator would've seen the lighting and flames reflect off the windows and brass fixtures and surfaces.

"See anything?" Sirius asked anxiously. Remus' eye was like glued to the spyglass.

"Definitely Welsh," he confirmed and then swore. He put the spyglass away and adjusted his lightning cannon. "We'll have the element of surprise on our side."

"Ready to fire at the Germans?" Sirius propped a plank against the wheel and hoisted up his own cannon. "On my count - one - two -"

Sirius fired before reaching three, his lightning bolt whizzing over the contours of the cloud beneath them and hitting the sail on the fore-mast, which went up in flames. Remus winced, but aimed his own shot at the mizzen-mast. He missed, but only barely.

The Germans didn't realise at first that they were being attacked by two ships, but soon enough there was a loud cry of outrage across the gulf and Sirius smirked. Remus didn't have to look at him to know he was smirking, so he only said softly, "This isn't over yet, Pads."

They counted on the darkness being cover enough for them as they continued firing at the German ship. The next lightning bolt hit the second window from the left in the poop cabin. Flames licked up the outer walls and along the quarter gallery. Panicked men shouted as the ship started sagging. Their attack deteriorated as the men shot wherever their cannons pointed. At this, the Welsh' ship's counter-attack turned ferocious, intensifying to a degree that showed the Germans no mercy.

A stray lightning bolt or two whizzed over Prometheus. Sirius kicked the plank away and smoothly steered the ship behind the Welsh, using them as cover.

"You all right over there?" he called out, even as the German ship, now a ball of flame with a black skeleton of a brig inside, slowly fell towards the ground. Remus spotted several parachutes below it.

"Got a couple of injuries and one man gone," someone called back. "Who's there? No lights, no flag?"

"Two Brits, that's all," Sirius called back. "You have a doctor with you?"

"Yes. Thanks guys, it was getting tough there."

"No problem! We'll be on our way then. No time for a chat - see you later. Or not!" Sirius fired his lightning cannon upwards in salute. An answering salute came from the Welsh and Sirius turned the ship around, heading towards Russia once more.

"Is this the point where I tell you that Kingsley will have your scalp and feed you to Scotland Yard?" Remus asked, leaning against the railing next to the wheel. His cannon was by his feet, the opening still smoking lightly.

"Yes," Sirius replied cheerfully, punching a few controls on the wheel, "but I'd rather not. I was having fun."

Remus snorted. "Your definition of 'fun' is rather morbid, Sirius. There must've been at least fifty men on that ship."

"They were soldiers. It's a part of the job description."

"Still."

"Would you rather we'd left the Welsh alone? The Germans were pretty vicious. Also, our enemy. It'd have been traitorous to leave the Welsh to their death. We serve Britain, Remus."

"I know." Remus sighed and decided to change the subject. "Where are we, then?"

Sirius pointed at his map. "Round about here." His finger was resting on the triangle border of Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia. That explained the Welsh, then. "Just crossing into Poland now." He consulted his compass. "We strayed a bit south, but that was to be expected."

"How soon can we get there?" Remus yawned. He'd been keyed up on adrenaline, but now that the battle, brief as it had been, was over and dawn was breaking ahead of them, he felt exhausted. And sore, having slept in an awkward position over the desk. "Or maybe more importantly, can I go back to sleep?"

"Yeah, you can." Sirius' eyes were soft - or maybe the fine light of dawn was tricking him. "Go to bed. I'll wake you up later when I get hungry."

"As usual." Remus smiled and shook his head. "Goodnight, then." He trotted inside, dropping his cannon off in the trunk.

*

Crossing into Belarus was remarkably unremarkable, albeit wet.

"I'm not complaining," Remus said, clutching an oversized mug of steaming hot tea, "but you could've given me _warning_ before heading into a giant bank of clouds!"

"Give me some of your tea," Sirius said, teeth clattering.

"My tea is sacred." Remus glared. "There's coffee in the other pot."

"I already drank it all." Sirius shuffled closer to Remus. "Moony, I'm cold. Show mercy."

Sirius was, if possible, even wetter than Remus. His black hair was plastered to his face, his clothes were more soaked than moist - Remus had at least had the sense to run inside and throw on an oiled coat - and his nails were a scary shade of blue.

Remus sighed. "Go and get changed. I'll make you a pot of tea. Good heavens, man, why didn't you put on your waterproof coat? You're going to catch your death."

"Not yet I won't," Sirius replied cheerfully, the effect somewhat ruined by the clatter of his teeth. "And I forgot."

"Go get changed. You look like a kicked and drowned puppy and it's hurting my heart."

"I'm sorry for hurting your heart." Sirius got up and disappeared inside, leaving Remus with his wistfulness and hurting heart and hope. When he reappeared, Remus had brewed another pot of tea and spiced it liberally with anise and sugar.

"Feeling better?" he asked, handing Sirius a steaming mug.

"Mhh. Thank you." He looked towards the wheel, which was barely visible in the thick mist. "Let's hope the clouds will cover us until Smolensk. We can then go down when it gets dark without being seen."

"Do you think we will get problems?"

"We might. There's no predicting what the Russians will do." Sirius sipped his tea. "James hasn't telegraphed?" he asked, even if he knew very well that James hadn't sent a word.

Remus shook his head.

"Hm," Sirius grumbled and checked his compass. "We'll reach Smolensk in four hours."

"Want me to try to reach James?"

"No. Don't want the Russians to intercept on the wireless. Unless you're very good at your code." Sirius raised an eyebrow in question, his lip curled up into a smile.

"Padfoot whiny Moony bored," Remus said dryly. "If he even bothers to reply it'll be to tell you to shut your gob."

Sirius flopped down onto the bench next to Remus. "You wound me."

"I don't."

"You deflate my ego."

Snort.

Silence.

"It could've been worse, yeah?" Sirius asked quietly.

"I suppose," Remus answered lightly. "It's a picnic. A piece of cake. Et cetera. pick your own food metaphor."

"You know what I mean." Sirius nudged him. "Unless we get into trouble, that is."

"With you leading this mission, we're bound to get into trouble."

"Oi!" Sirius elbowed him but Remus was grinning.

"Just stating the truth." He looked sideways at Sirius' scowling face, grin turning into a full on smirk. "Keep doing that. It suits you."

Sirius' scowl turned into surprise and Remus wondered if he'd object very much if he just leaned in, just like that, and kissed him, without preamble. He gave Sirius' lips a long look, then looked away with a sigh. Best not.

"Hungry?"

"A little."

"You get us to Smolensk safely and I'll cook us something. Which would you prefer? Stew, stew or stew?"

"Stew sounds mighty fine to me." Sirius grinned and stood up, holding out his hand for Remus. Remus took it and Sirius pulled him to his feet. "Dinner of the warriors. Champions. Whatever."

"Whatever." Remus tugged his hand out of Sirius' warm grasp and awkwardly stuck it into his pocket. "You know - about the Welsh..."

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad we helped them."

The bright smile Sirius gave him warmed him inside out, despite the wet and cold whiteness around them. Remus smiled back.

*

James telegraphed half an hour before they reached Smolensk. Sirius jumped out of his chair, abandoning his coffee, and raced over to the telegraph. He jotted down the morse code with furious speed.

"Dot dot dot dot, dash dash dash, dash dot dot dash, dash dot dot dot...argh, Remus, can't you do this?" Sirius thrust the paper at him. "James isn't making sense."

" _How bored are you?_ " Remus read. "That's it?" He frowned, sitting down before the telegraph and morsing back.

"What're you telling him?"

"That he sucks." Remus' finger tapped out a series of dashes and dots that Sirius could make neither head nor tail of. "Now let's see what he's got to say."

Sirius crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently and Remus tapped the table with his fingers. Eventually James morsed back.

" _Flowers bloom in spring_ ," Remus translated. "Oh, balls!" He leafed through the maps and documents on the desk, while Sirius was cursing at James' uselessness with code language. "Here," Remus said, holding up a map James had given him.

" _Flowers bloom in spring_ ," Sirius snorted. "Right, where is it?" They leaned over the map, studying the area immediately around Smolensk. There were three of the tsar's residences in the area and according to James' message, Lily had moved the family. None of these residences were named anything in relation to spring, however.

"There!" Remus pointed at a tiny word just south of Smolensk. "весна. Spring."

"Are you sure? That place looks...it's in the middle of nowhere."

"No. But it's all we've got."

Another message came in.

" _Two flowers wilting. Gardener no mercy. Be quick. Rats are coming_." Remus looked at Sirius, swallowing hard. "The Chapare arenavirus is spread via rats," he explained. "I bloody hope that's not what James is saying."

"What's that wilting business?" Sirius demanded.

"Injuries. Quick, Sirius, where are we? We're in a hurry - we don't have time to wait for dark, either," Remus said, tapping out a quick confirmation message to James.

When he looked up, Sirius was already outside at the wheel and the ship was lurching to the right as it took a sharp turn. Remus went straight to the armory trunk and picked out one lightning cannon - for Sirius - and two pistols, one for each. He hesitated a little before also taking a rifle. He had nearly gone out the door when he went back and took the other lightning cannon as well.

"Hold on to something!" Sirius shouted as Remus joined him. "We're going down!"

Remus held hard onto the railing, swallowing hard as the Prometheus slowly dived. Suddenly they broke free of the clouds, into golden sunlight. Remus looked around wildly, expecting to see a fleet of airships or zeppelins, but there were none - at least none within close proximity.

"Sirius," he said tightly.

"I know."

"We won't have time to touch ground if we want to be able to escape -"

"I know."

"The injured..." Remus trailed off.

"They better be able to climb the rope ladder or we'll all be screwed," Sirius stated, pulling the ship out of the dive. They were now so low over ground that the tallest trees brushed against the hull. He shadowed his eyes with his hand as he looked east. "I'd say they're about twelve leagues away. That gives us half an hour before they're within range."

He swore. The three small shapes ahead of them seemed to grow bigger with supernatural speed.

"Best get on with it, then," he said darkly and scanned the ground.

The area seemed to consist of nothing but forest and a few crop fields here and there. No house or building was visible.

Remus was leaning over the side of the ship, trying to ignore the prickling feeling on the back of his neck. His eyes sought shapes, lines, disturbances in the natural landscape that would suggest human habitation.

"How close are we according to the coordinates?"

"We should be right above it - there!"

A tiny deserted cottage bloomed out from among a copse of trees. Only the horse-carriage outside the cottage gave away that someone was there. Sirius stopped the ship and let the momentum carry it into a circle above the cottage until it could still. Remus threw out the rope ladder and climbed down, leaving both lightning cannons with Sirius, the rifle strapped to his back.

Just as Remus' feet touched ground, Lily ran out to meet him, crushing him into a hug.

"I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life," she said, looking up briefly to give Sirius a wave. "James has been terrible with worry - he hasn't said, but I know it - and then this happened -"

"Injuries?" Remus asked, cutting into her babbling. "Can they climb?"

"I think so - come." She dragged him inside, where the Romanovs were huddled around a table. The tsar himself had a headwound, but Lily had already dressed it. One of the girls seemed slightly worse off, with bandages on both her head and her left arm. The boy seemed unhurt, though, and Remus breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tatiana only came to ten minutes ago," Lily quickly explained. "This is -"

"We've no time for introductions. They'll be here in less than half an hour so we need to leave _now_." Remus gestured towards the door anxiously.

Lily turned towards the Romanovs and from her mouth came a string of Russian that Remus didn't catch much of, but the effect was instantaneous. There was a flurry of surprisingly quiet movement and then they were all outside and the tsarina was climbing up the rope ladder, while Remus secured it for minimal shaking.

"I'll go last," Remus said, urging them on. "What about the horses?" He nodded towards the carriage.

"If the bastards don't kill them, someone will be along eventually to free them," Lily said, helping the boy up the ladder.

The three dark forms in the sky were no longer just forms, but airships. Remus reckoned they had ten minutes before they'd start shooting. Maybe.

"Hurry!" he hissed at Lily, who glared at him. Four of the members of the royal family were on the ladder now. Remus saw the tsarina climb over the railing and then offer her son help. The youngest girl started climbing now. "Lily," Remus said anxiously. "James will have my balls if something happens to you, so would you please - thank you, sir."

Lily glared at the tsar, saying something about him being her charge, but he would have none of it. When the last girl was halfway up the rope ladder, Lily finally gave in and climbed up, the tsar following her a few seconds later.

The three airships had halved the distance now and Remus was anxious to get going. He held the ladder, watching as Lily got safely on board and finally the tsar. Remus removed the groundplug and climbed up as fast as he could, feeling the ship move, rising upwards and gaining speed, albeit torturously slowly. The ladder swung in the air and Remus clung to it for dear life.

He glanced at the ships, swearing when he saw how close they were - not yet within range, but too close for comfort - and then continued upwards, focusing on not losing his footing and grabbing the next bar. When he reached the railing, he was relieved to find the strong arms of the tsar and Lily's insistent hands pull him over the edge.

"Where are we headed?" he asked, out of breath, but wasting no time in picking up one of the lightning cannons and aiming it at the ships. "Can we outrun them?"

"West," Sirius replied shortly. "We'll go with the wind, gain as much speed as possible. Go back into the clouds - hey, tell them to go inside, they'll be in the way on deck."

Lily immediately herded the Romanovs into the cabin. She came back a few minutes later, wielding a lightning cannon, obviously filched from the armory trunk.

"No, absolutely not," Remus protested. "You're going back inside. Sirius, tell her to be a lady."

"I'd rather not," Sirius replied, focused on the set of controls in the wheel.

"Just accept it," Lily said triumphantly, lining up next to Remus.

"James is going to shit a horse if he finds out," Remus grumbled.

An experimental shot was discharged from the enemy ship in the middle, but it didn't reach them, fizzing out into nothing just a few yards away. The air crackled lightly and Remus noticed that a few strands of Lily's hair stuck up. Another lightning shot came their way, this one disintegrating closer to the Prometheus.

"Sirius!" Remus cried. "Can't you go faster? I think they're trying to envelop us in static electricity!"

"That's bad how?" Lily asked, deciding that since the enemy was firing, she could fire back, and discharged a lightning bolt towards the middle ship. It didn't quite reach either.

"I don't know, but it's probably _very_ bad," Remus replied. "At any rate the static electricity will interfere with our instruments...and it might disturb our cannons. Maybe attract lightning. I don't fucking know but _I don't like it_."

Lily eyed him sideways. "You're not just saying that to scare me and make me go back inside?"

"Maybe," Remus grumbled. "Please?" he added, but Lily didn't get to reply as a lightning bolt slid along the side of the ship, shaking them all a little. Lily shrieked and fell over, but was instantly back on her feet next to Remus and shooting back.

"Faster!" she yelled to Sirius and Remus would've rolled his eyes if it wasn't for the fact he was quite busy putting them to proper use, seeing where he was aiming.

"I'm trying!" Sirius yelled back.

They got hit by a bolt; it rammed into the rudder and sent it flapping wildly, causing the Prometheus to zigzag. Remus and Lily were wasting no time, firing lightning bolts back at the three ships. Lily's bolts found their marks every time, charging right into the sails - only one had caught fire so far - and she was lit up with fury, her hair standing on end as the air crackled with electricity.

"Hold on!" Sirius cried. "We're going up!"

Remus and Lily clutched the railing, cannons propped against it as they fired, Remus determined to bring down at least one of those darned ships. The left ship's sails were now all gone, thanks to Lily, and it was rapidly losing speed. Remus fired bolt after bolt, saw them hit, saw the electric tongues lick the sides of the ship, but nothing was catching fire, nothing seemed to be breaking...he saw the nails shoot out of the planks, sparks in their wake and he saw the first plank fall away before everything suddenly became white.

White, wet and cold.

Before he could orientate himself, the Prometheus lurched to the right, doing a nearly 90 degree turn. Lily lost her footing and slid along the floor until she met the starboard railing.

"You all right there?" Remus called out.

"Mfine..." She glanced through the bars. "Glad I can't see the ground, to be fair..."

The Prometheus righted itself and Lily scrambled to her feet and Remus let go of the railing. Sirius looked rather pleased with himself as he looked over his shoulder to check on his mates.

"You guys all right?"

"Fine," Remus said. "I should check the ship for damages..." He rubbed his face. "We don't want any surprises."

"Why the turn?" Lily asked. "You could've given us some warning!"

"We're going north. They'll expect us to go straight home, so we're not doing that. You can bet they'll be pursuing us...and alerting every single one of their allies," Sirius replied, without turning around.

"Won't help us much, will it?" Lily snorted. "We're still in Russian territory, aren't we?"

"Yeah. We're headed towards Latvia...we might have to briefly cross into Belarus..." Sirius shrugged. "No matter. We're not expected there...and it'll get dark in a few hours."

"Don't get too comfortable," Remus warned. "Anyway, Lily, you should go check on the family. I'll check the ship over."

 

  
**II**  


It was already dark by the time a soaked and chilled-to-the-bone Remus finally dragged himself back onto deck. Sirius wasn't at the wheel and the scarf was tied to it again, he saw - and so Remus made his way inside to join the others.

"We've lost a few planks...we need to replace them as soon as possible. Apart from that I found only minor damages," he reported, undoing the buttons on his coat. Sirius sprang up from his chair and helped him peel his coat and scarf off. "I hammered a few nails back into place. The rudder was undamaged but I tightened it up a bit anyway, just in case."

"Good man, Moony." Sirius patted his shoulder. "Sit, Lily made stew and you must be cold. Your lips are blue."

"Yeah...I'll have a change first, thanks..." He only now registered that the Romanovs were in the room - really, where else would they be - and he gave them an apologetic shrug as he went to the bedchamber to find his trunk. There would be time for introductions later.

He felt better once in dry and warm clothes, with a bowl of stew in front of him and Sirius fussing about his well-being.

"We sent word to James," Sirius said, shoving a mug of tea into Remus' hands. "He knows we're off course but I didn't dare allude to where we're going. We're just outside Pskov now. Figured we'd cross into Estonia over the lake...the border should be less guarded there."

Remus consulted his mental map of the area. "Touching down in Tartu?"

"There's a consulate there, so yes. We need the ship fixed." Sirius sighed. "It was a close call."

"Not that close."

"Close enough." Sirius squeezed Remus' shoulder.

Lily cleared her throat and Remus looked up to see her stand next to the tsar. "Remus, this is tsar Nikolay. Nikolay, Remus Lupin, second best fighter in the Order of the Phoenix and self-proclaimed biological warfare specialist."

"Second best?" Nikolay asked, eyebrow raised in amusement. "I was told young Sirius Black is second best."

"We, er, tied," Remus faltered, stumbling over the Russian words and blushing. "It's an honour to meet you. I've heard a lot about your work concerning haemophilia."

"Ah, yes..." Nikolay looked at his son, who was sitting on his right side, and put a hand on his shoulder. "This is my son, Alexei. He suffers from the condition."

"I'm sorry to hear," Remus said politely, even if he already knew this - and he knew that the tsar knew that he knew, which was getting confusing so he just nodded sympathetically.

The tsar introduced the rest of his family to Remus: tsarina Alexandra, their oldest daughter Olga, Tatiana, who was looking very pale under her bandages, Maria and Anastasia. Olga and Tatiana at 22 and 21 were the same age as Remus, Sirius and Lily. It also turned out that they all spoke English due to close kinship ties with British royalty, something that relieved Remus immensely.

Sirius sat down next to Remus, hunching over the mug of coffee in his hand. "To go back to what we were discussing," he said, "how did Rasputin find out about your discovery?"

The tsarina's lips tightened. So did Lily's.

"I am a soft man," the tsar said grimly and Remus thought he was anything but. "I care not for politics, bureaucracy, ruling... I love my country, but she is not for me to control." He tapped his fingers once on the table. "I and my wife founded The Empress' Laboratory when our son was born. When our daughters had received enough training, they joined us in our research. It is a grand laboratory; we have hired researchers from all over the world and many more have joined us at own expense in order to have access to our libraries and data. Some of the researchers work on topics not related to haemophilia, though most do; there are other diseases of the blood. Viruses and bacterias that cause hemorrhage and so on. One of our researchers was very interested in viruses carried by rats and other rodents."

"Rats?" Remus blinked, glancing at Sirius who looked just as stunned and wary as he himself. Lily looked more furious than ever.

"He was working on a virus called the Chapare arenavirus, which is spread via rats. An accident must have happened, because Tatiana discovered that the samples of the haemophilia gene she was working on had been contaminated by the virus. Upon closer inspection she discovered that the gene had attached itself to the virus and instead of destroying the samples and starting over, she performed tests on this strange new mutation. The effects on the laboratory rats were...frightening." Nikolay's eyes were downcast. "Unfortunately, one of the researchers was infected by the virus. He died within twelve hours. There was nothing we could do."

Sirius was dying to find out who the rat researcher had been, but Remus, not wanting to trust his suspicions, squeezed his arm to keep him quiet and delay the moment a little longer."What happened then?"

Tsar Nikolay drew in a deep breath, giving Remus and Sirius an apologetic look. Lily had stalked off to the end of the room, arms crossed and tongue clicking in fury.

"The researcher who had been working with the Chapare arenavirus caught wind of the thing - not very hard to do, given that it was a terribly tragic affair - and it appears he sent word to Rasputin. Rasputin in turn ordered him to produce more of the virus and it was this message that your spy - Miss Evans - caught."

Sirius was now clutching his mug hard. "Who was he?" he asked, almost fearfully. "What is his name?"

"Sirius -" Remus started, but Sirius lifted his hand as if to reject him, effectively silencing him.

"His name is Peter Pettigrew," Nikolay said slowly, eyes full of pity. "I am sorry. I've been told that he is a close friend of yours."

Remus closed his eyes. Sirius had tensed next to him; rage was radiating out from him. "I - we - yes. He was in the programme with me, only he was useless in combat and battle, so he stuck to research..." Remus trailed off, opening his eyes again. So, _Peter_.

"He's - he _was_ a friend of ours," Sirius said, grinding his teeth in anger. "That traitorous little - little _rat_!"

"Lily?" Remus asked.

"Gone," she said, turning around. "With Rasputin, I presume. He was quick to run once he suspected I'd discovered his -" she bit her tongue, but her eyes blazed. "I haven't told James yet. Wanted to do it in person."

"It's all right. We can tell him."

"It's not bloody all right!" Sirius growled. "That bastard - I can't believe - what on earth possessed him to go to _Rasputin_ with the information?"

"Money. Power." Lily shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Bloody hell." Sirius swore some more.

"Did he take anything with him?" Remus interrupted, anxious to know just how serious the matter was.

"No. We have the only samples of the virus in existence and Tatiana salvaged her notes."

"And there are no copies?"

"None."

Remus breathed a sigh of relief. "So at least we know they haven't got the virus yet, nor the means to make it..."

"This means that we're still in danger," Lily pointed out. "Rasputin isn't pursuing us for no reason. He'll go to incredible lengths to get the virus."

"What does he plan to do with it?" Sirius asked. "I mean, apart from the obvious..."

"The obvious is bad enough," Remus pointed out. "He may want to just kill opponents, but the thing is: The arenavirus is uncontrollable; it spreads from rodent to rodent and from there to humans. This particular virus might spread from human to human but I would have to study it to know for certain. Let's not rule that possibility out. Unless you can fashion a way to kill every single rat in existence in order to get rid of the infection - once it's out, that is - you can't defeat it. We would have a pandemic on our hands within a matter of weeks. The entire human population could get wiped off the face of the Earth. This isn't a matter of national security, this is about the preservation of mankind -"

"All right, all right! Serious business. The guy doesn't know the risks?"

"He's mad," Nikolay chipped in. "His rational mind has deteriorated beyond redemption. You can't trust him."

"Surely Peter knew the risks?" Sirius then asked. "Before his traitorous arse went to Rasputin with the news?"

"This is Peter we're talking about, Pads. The guy I spent hours helping with his studies because he couldn't grasp the material. I don't think he realised what he was doing. If he did... well..."

"Bloody Peter," Sirius muttered. "I should wring his neck."

"I won't let you -"

" _What?!_ Oh, no, Moony, you don't -"

"Scotland Yard," Remus pointed out. "They'll hang you. He's not worth it."

Sirius grumbled, then stood up abruptly. "Fine. I'm going to steer for a bit." He went out in a huff.

Lily made to follow him, but Remus shook his head. "Leave him be. He'll cool off soon enough."

"All right." Lily sighed, but threw a worried look at the door. "That daft thing."

"Mh, I know." Remus returned his attention to the Nikolay. "Where's the virus?"

The tsar reached inside his coat and withdrew a small tinbox. He opened it, revealing two clear ampulls with sealed cork-stoppers. Inside there was a clear liquid with a light pink tint.

"What do you plan to do with it?"

"Destroy it," the tsarina answered quickly, not looking at her husband. "It's not worth it to study this virus. The risks are too big."

"It is the right thing to do," Nikolay said slowly. "Who knows what there is to learn from it? We know already it is dangerous. I would be sorry if the virus got released." He reached inside his coat once more and withdrew a sheaf of papers. Remus saw that they were covered in neat handwriting. "These are Tatiana's notes. They'll be burned along with this."

Remus nodded. "Sirius has a safe in the bedchamber. If you don't mind...?"

Nikolay gave Remus a searching look. "How many know the combination?"

"Only me and Sirius."

"Very well." Nikolay stood up, closing the tinbox and gathering up the papers. Remus stood also.

"This way." He took the tsar into the bedchamber and crouched down by Sirius' bunk. The only other bunk in the bedchamber was Remus', which happened to be in something of a disarray while Sirius' bed was neatly done. "Here."

He opened the drawer under Sirius' bunk. The safe was there. Remus opened it, smiling briefly to himself as he saw the bundle of old letters inside. The tsar handed him the tinbox and Tatiana's notes and Remus put them carefully down, closed the safe and locked it again.

"This is the only bedchamber in the ship?" the tsar asked as Remus stood up again.

"Ah...yes..." Remus rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "It's actually the captain's bedchamber, but since there's only the two of us here most of the time, Sirius installed a bunk for me so I wouldn't have to sleep under deck alone...er, you lot must be tired. It's late. I'll show you where to sleep."

They went back to the others. The boy had fallen asleep in his chair and the girls looked very pale. Sirius was still outside sulking.

Remus opened a trapdoor in the floor. "Come with me, please. Mind your footing, the stairs are steep."

The room under deck was a large storage room that doubled as barracks at times when Sirius had fighters on board. There was a furnace, two water tanks, several boxes of various sizes and shapes, most of which contained coal and long-term foodstuffs as well as there were a number of folded canvas, coils of rope and other items pertaining to the maintenance of an air ship. Along the walls were fold-out berths and Remus knew that the pile of metal tubes in one corner was in fact a pile of fold-able camp beds.

"I apologise for the inconvenience, but this is the best we can offer under circumstances," Remus said. "The toilet is in there," he pointed at a door, "and you'll find water there too. Here, Lily, help me out..."

With Lily's help - and Olga's, once she realised what they were doing, they turned a part of the room into a dormitory. Half the beds on the wall were flipped down, camp beds were placed nearby and Remus moved a few boxes to make the area more secluded and private.

The camp beds didn't have mattresses, only a piece of canvas stretched over a frame. Remus dug out a pile of woollen blankets from a cupboard and distributed them evenly, then looked at the arrangement. Anastasia was gingerly seating herself on one of the camp beds.

"I'm afraid that's it...Lily will stay with you and Sirius and I will be just upstairs. That door at the end of the room opens to another storage room from where there is access to the deck. If you go out be careful and stay low. Uhm. Okay, goodnight then..."

"Thank you," Nikolay said, taking a step forwards. "For what you're doing to help our family..." he hesitated. "Rasputin isn't after us only for the virus, as I hope you are aware. He wants to be supreme ruler of Russia and so long as I and my family are alive, that is not possible."

Remus nodded. "We'll get you to England safely."

*

Sirius' brooding form was hunched over the wheel. Remus stepped up beside him quietly.

"It's a cloudless night," he said, cleverly.

"Mh," Sirius agreed.

"I set them up in the barracks. Lily's with them."

No answer.

"We have to tell James. It can't wait."

"Why not?" Sirius' voice was rusty from disuse and he cleared his throat. "Wouldn't you want to be told in person? We can't break it to him over the telegraph!"

"And what if Peter goes to James? Or contacts him? Peter knows us and our code of honour. He swore on it, once."

"You think he's smart enough to use James like that?"

"I'm saying we shouldn't underestimate our enemies."

Sirius was quiet for a long time. "All right," he sighed. "I suppose there's no way around it."

"No."

"It sucks."

"Yeah."

The lake beneath them was a great silvery mass in the blackness around them. Far off on the opposite shore there were a few small lights.

"Looks quiet enough."

"We'll probably sail right over their heads without them noticing," Sirius said and straightened up. "Will you telegraph James?"

"Yeah. I'll do it before I go to bed." Remus rubbed his face. "Do you need me tonight?"

"Hopefully not. Get some sleep." Sirius squeezed his shoulder. "See you in the morning, yeah?"

"Yeah..." Remus hesitated, wanting to dwell a little longer, stand a little closer for even just a moment. There was very little light, but a thin stripe of yellow light from the petroleum lamp on the table inside crossed Sirius' face, illuminating just a section of his lips, the tip of his nose and the eyebrow over his left eye. "Goodnight, Sirius," Remus said softly, turning away from the overwhelming temptation that was Sirius.

*

Touchdown during the night was extraordinarily uneventful. Remus woke up briefly and stumbled out of bed to help Sirius change the sails from black to plain white ones. Come morning, the Prometheus looked like any other merchant vessel. The consulate, which were the only people who spoke English in the area, had given Sirius an address to a workshop and so before high noon, the ship was back in the air, fixed, floating, re-stocked, and sporting an Estonian flag.

"Sirius still sleeping?" Remus asked as Lily joined him on deck in the early afternoon.

"Out cold." She handed him a mug full of freshly brewed tea. "What're you writing?"

"A bodice-ripper."

"You're joking." She narrowed her eyes at him, then suddenly they widened. "Oh my god. You're actually serious?"

"No, I'm Remus," he deadpanned, then smirked when she snorted and rolled her eyes at him. "I'm writing an article about the properties of _Bacillus anthracis_ and the most profitable way of using it aggressively."

"To be published, I take it?"

"Of course. I did the research last month; I'm just putting the finishing touching on the article. _The International Journal of Biology_ has expressed interest."

"All right. I really just came out here to ask whether that contraption is... _safe_." She pointed at the scarf tied to the wheel.

"Oh, that. That's an auto-pilot. Very smart thing, you see, it allows the captain to not steer all the time. The auto-pilot does it for him," Remus said, half-amused. "Of course, there are still a few hang-ups as it will maintain only one direction, therefore needing to be continually adjusted manually -"

"You are mad. Both of you."

Remus just smiled. It was a beautiful day; sunny and mostly clear, they were in friendly airspace and the ship was homebound.

"Do you have any idea when we'll be back?"

"You'll have to ask Sirius. My guess is by nightfall. Maybe longer... we're taking a bit of a detour to avoid hostile areas."

She made a quick calculation in her head. "About eight hours. Suits me fine."

"You have no other choice."

"I know," she replied cheerfully.

"We told James," Remus said. She looked at him sharply. "We had no other choice."

"But -"

"You know why, Lily."

"Yes, I suppose I do." She sighed. "How did he take it?"

"He didn't say much...but we couldn't say much, either. I didn't want potential listeners to guess at our message - you know, if they think we haven't relayed the information on yet, they...well, Peter. He might try to go to James. If we can catch him..."

"What would he be charged for?"

Remus gave her a contemplative look. "Treason. Probably high treason. After all, he aided the enemy."

"He'll be hanged."

"If he's found guilty, yes."

"And that doesn't bother you? He's...he _was_ your friend."

"He was our friend before he betrayed England," Remus said levelly. "Which, I needn't remind you, is where our loyalties lie."

Lily gave him a long look. "And if it'd been Sirius?"

Remus looked at her, startled. "Sirius would never do anything like that."

"Say he did. Would you let him suffer the same fate?"

"I..." he faltered. "He wouldn't, so it's a useless question," he said firmly, but Lily was giving him a look that said _didn't I think so_ and _oh, Remus_ and a lot of other things and what was up with that anyway?

He turned away from her resolutely, looking ahead instead, at the little fluffy babyclouds scattered above them and the black dots ahead of them and the landmass beneath them; anywhere that wasn't Lily.

It took a good minute before he registered what he was seeing. "Uh, Lily...I think you should go wake up Sirius."

She left quickly and Remus scrambled for his spyglass. He'd just found it and set it before his eye when Sirius ran up behind him, only half dressed.

"What is it?"

"A fleet of ships - two fleets...Oh shit - it's the Danes and Swedes."

"Oh for the love of...couldn't they have picked another day to break cease-fire?" Sirius snapped, unwinding the scarf from the wheel. "Bloody hell."

"It is fine weather for it," Remus said and Sirius laughed, making Remus' stomach feel a little fuzzy inside. "Gotta give them that."

"Yeah. All right. What sounds better to you: try to go around the Danes or try to go around the Swedes? We can't go under, that's too dangerous, and we can't go high enough to go over. Going straight through is obviously not an option. So, what do you think?"

"Er... Uhm, the Danes aren't exactly known for being merciful, but...uh, let's not go there. The Swedes are friends with Estonia, right? We can just...wave the flag in their faces and hope to get away with it?"

"The Swedes have a history of sky piracy," Sirius supplied. "Which makes the merchant ship disguise pretty stupid, in hindsight..."

"It's pest or cholera, isn't it?" Remus shrugged. "We're already in Swedish air space, so let's just go that way."

Sirius turned the wheel and the Prometheus glided northwest. "They're not firing yet, are they?"

"Nope," Remus replied, spyglass still firmly in place before his eye. "They look like they're both waiting for the other side to make the first move."

"And calling each other arse-monkeys, I bet." Sirius looked around for Lily, but found she'd not followed him back outside.

"I'm sure they have their own insults without having to borrow ours." Remus lowered the spyglass solely for the purpose of raising an eyebrow at Sirius.

"Mh, yeah..." Sirius tapped some of his instruments thoughtfully. "At the speed we're going - provided the wind doesn't change - we'll reach them in about an hour and a half..." He looked up. "That won't quite get us on the other side of them, but hopefully we'll manage to skirt them without too much trouble...If I can take the Prometheus just a little higher, we might just make it through safely..."

"What if we go further north first and then turn west?"

Sirius shook his head. "It's possible, but I'd rather not, not with this wind. It's too complicated." Sirius sighed. "We'll just have to run the risk. There's always hope they won't start shooting yet."

*

"Arse-buggering buggery fuck!" Sirius exclaimed as yet another cannonball flew over the ship.

"Buggery is not an option right now!" Remus yelled back.

"How about tomorrow?"

Remus was about to send a scathing retort back when he was cut off by the loud, devastating _crack_ that announced a cannonball had crashed into the side of the ship. Sirius howled in anger.

"That's it, Moony, we're giving back as good as we've got!" he cried. "Should teach those backwards last-century potato-mouthed bastards to not fire at _my_ ship!" He shoved a plank under the wheel - the same one he'd used earlier, probably - and ran inside to get himself a lightning cannon.

Another cannonball flew over the ship and Remus cursed, firing a lightning bolt at the offending ship. Both the Danes and the Swedes were using outdated, heavy gunnery, which not only was more dangerous all around; on ground one was constantly at risk from getting hit by a cannonball in the head. Apparently the statistical risk was only slightly lower than that for death by coconuts.

Sirius came back, firing as he ran, and looking absolutely murderous. "Double damn them all to hell!"

"Well, at least they don't have a bazooka," Remus said, firing his lightning cannon and watching with satisfaction as it hit an old cannon, which promptly exploded.

"Ha ha." Sirius's next lightning bolt hit a group of men on deck. Remus couldn't see what happened to them, but he knew already the consequences of getting hit by a 30 kA lightning bolt and it wasn't pretty.

The offending ship, which Remus now noticed sported a red and white flag, was partially on fire. Three other ships with the same kind of flag were behind it, fully engaged in battle with five blue and yellow-flagged ships. All around them were the noises of war; cannon shots, cries, the crinkle of fire and cacophony of orders and metal against metal.

"Oi, Sirius, now might be a good time to try to get us out of this mess," Remus said, now aiming his lightning cannon at the sails. One actually caught fire. "I'll shoot, you drive."

The Prometheus was shaken by another cannonball. Splinters of wood flew through the air and a cry was heard from inside.

"On second thoughts - just get us the fuck out of here and I'll go see who's hurt," Remus said, throwing his lightning cannon on the floor as he leaped inside and thundered down the stairs.

Lily was crouching by one of the girls, who was bleeding from her leg. She had a few scratches on her hands and face as well. By her feet was a little black cannon ball and Remus kicked it in disgust.

"Anyone else hurt?" he asked, slightly out of breath. The tsar shook his head. Remus noticed then that the boy was covered from top to toe by a large amount of blankets. "Good thinking - now, let's move some of those boxes -" He gestured, trying to keep calm, which wasn't exactly easy to do knowing that Sirius was upstairs in the open and they were being fired at by idiots who thought they were a - a - _something_.

The tsar and tsarina helped Remus move coal boxes in front of the dormitory area as a kind of shield, while Lily tended to Maria, the hurt girl. Her leg was dressed in no time and Remus was in the process of pushing aside a box of canvas when a cannonball crashed through the wall and the box, lodging itself among the canvas. A splinter from the ship implanted itself in his arm and another grazed his cheek.

"Holy bitch of all bitches!" Remus cried furiously, kicking the box. "Lily! I'm going back out - take care -" He ran up the stairs, Lily staring after him completely non-plussed.

Remus' lightning cannon was still lying where he'd thrown it, smoking out of the front, and he picked it up. Sirius was fiercely focused on steering, every now and then punching the wheel.

The ship that had been shooting at them, however, was gone.

"Wha -" Remus started, but then he saw it. Engulfed in flames, the ship was falling towards the ground below.

"Those guys over there finished them for us," Sirius said shortly, gesturing towards a Swedish ship. "They -" he cut himself off abruptly when he saw the gash on Remus' cheek, his eyes then widening when he saw the large splinter still sticking out of Remus' arm. "Moony," he said, voice strangled. "What do you think you are doing?"

Remus looked down at his arm. It looked nasty, but wasn't bleeding as much as he would've thought. "I don't know." He lifted it to examine it up close. "It's strange, doesn't even hurt much."

"You..." Sirius shook his head in exasperation. He looked torn, as if he didn't quite know what to do. He looked around, taking in the battlefield. "Go have Lily look at that. I'll get us out - think we're through the worst, anyway - hopefully - _Moony_!"

"Okay," Remus said, letting his lightning cannon drop, and then, as if it wasn't really him but someone else, a puppet through whose eyes he was watching the happenings, he took that one step that closed the distance between them, his uninjured arm reached out and his hand grasped Sirius' shirt.

The kiss was brief, so short that Remus wasn't even completely sure it even happened, but it'd been warm and soft and slightly rusty, though he didn't quite know why. Sirius was speechless, stunned, and Remus went back inside and scrambled down the stairs to Lily, Lily whose face was ashen and frightened.

He didn't really register when she jerked the splinter out of his arm and blood welled out of the wound, only watched in silence as she cleaned it with a stinging solution and bandaged it firmly. His cheek stung when she cleaned the gash there and he flinched.

"... Remus? Remus!" Lily slapped his other cheek and Remus shook his head. "Did you hit your head? No? God, you're completely useless. Here, drink this. Is Sirius all right?"

Remus nodded.

"Good. God, boy. You need to lie down. Sure you didn't hit your head?"

"Positive."

Lily gave him a critical look. "All right. Well, you're not fighting anymore today, that's for sure. That's your gun-arm, you idiot. Go to bed. I'll check in on you later."

Remus looked around, now noticing that the Romanovs were looking at him worriedly. That, if anything, made him pull himself together. "Okay. Sorry, I...don't know what just happened." He stood up, not expecting to feel wobbly, and frowned when it felt like his legs were going to give way. "Wha - ...you gave me whiskey?"

"Just a little," she admitted. "Now go." She pushed him and Remus let himself be bossed up the stairs and into the bedchamber and his own bed.

  
**III**  


When Remus woke up, it was dark but for the soft glow of a petroleum lamp nearby. Even so, he instantly knew what had woken him; Sirius was kneeling by his bed and leaning over him, clutching his hand.

"Moony?" he asked softly and Remus blinked.

"Is something wrong?" Remus tried to sit up, but Sirius pushed him back.

"Lie down, Lily said you were in shock. Really, Remus, haven't you fought often enough to not get shell shocked anymore when you get injured?"

Remus blinked again. But that wasn't why, he thought, wondering whether it'd even happened at all. "But..." He gazed down at Sirius' hand on his and saw now that he wasn't so much clutching his hand as he'd laced their fingers together. _How odd_.

"How are you feeling?"

"Strange," Remus replied. "Sirius, what...?"

"Nothing." And then he smiled, a funny smile Remus hadn't really seen on him before, and it was doing funny things to his gut as well. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"...yeah," Remus replied, his mouth suddenly dry and his stomach doing the can-can. "Why -"

He didn't get to finish the sentence because then Sirius was closer again, and then he was kissing him. It was a warm kiss, maybe most importantly a _long_ kiss, as if Sirius didn't really want to stop. It suited Remus just fine; he didn't want Sirius to stop either. He brought up his free hand, the un-injured one, and threaded his fingers through Sirius' hair, drawing him deeper into the kiss.

Remus decided then and there that he wouldn't mind getting woken up with kisses every day for the rest of his life.

"Sirius..." Remus murmured, reluctant to stop doing this wonderful thing called kissing, but his brain was slowly regaining its normal level of function. "Why aren't you at the wheel?"

"Left the auto-pilot on," Sirius answered and caught his lips again.

"But - mmmhhh... what..."

"We're over the North Sea now, Moony. We left the battle behind hours ago....crossed Denmark, most of the North Sea...We'll be in London in an hour."

"Oh."

"Mmhh, yeah. So..." Sirius brushed his lips against Remus'. "Not that I'm complaining about...this...new state of things...but...why?"

"I don't know," Remus answered truthfully. "I think I just wanted to."

*

_...and the first thing Remus Lupin did upon arrival in London was to sneak away one of Kingsley Shacklebolt's fountain pens. Years later, after a rather long and dull ceremony in which our heroes were knighted for their life-long service to the Queen, her family, and England, several fountain pens formerly in the posession of the Queen's secretary would mysteriously go missing._

_Sirius Black never paid Archie what he owed him. Given that Archie was a lamp, it is safe to say he didn't mind much._

_Lily Evans and James Potter joined hands in marriage on Midsummer Eve. A son was born to them a year later._

_Gay marriage would not be legalised anywhere in the world until over hundred years later, at which point it was a bit too late for our heroes. They remained members of the Order of the Phoenix until the end of their lives and formed a formidable duo (quartet, if including the Prometheus and Gilbert The Auto-Pilot)._

_Peter the Rat, so dubbed by Sirius, was captured by James Potter three days after the Romanovs' arrival in England. He was tried and found guilty for high treason and subsequently hanged._

_No cure has been found for haemophilia to this day, but the Romanovs contributed greatly to research on the subject; the greatest discovery to date is the blood-clotting attribute of the K vitamin._

_Rasputin is still at large and Europe is still at war. It is a rather depressing account (save perhaps for the story of how Denmark unwittingly united Germany and therefore caused the war to turn upside down on its head), so we will not tell it here._

_And thus ends our tale, with our heroes knighted, unmarried, still fighting and sailing away into the brilliant sunset. (It actually rained, but let's not ruin the story.)_

**Author's Note:**

> The London Underground started operating electric trains already in 1890 and not in 1900 as implied. Capital punishment in the UK wasn't abolished until 1969 (and last hanging took place in 1964). _Benelux_ wasn't coined until ~1946.  
>  In 1900 Alexei hadn't even been born - eskewed timeline ahoy. He's 14 here, and everyone else's ages have been altered to fit as well. Rasputin wasn't quite the villain I made him out to be; he was the family friend and doctor.  
> The Chapare arenavirus exists (not discovered until 2003) and is as described...however, the rest of it is fabricated science. If anything is correct, it is so unwittingly.  
> Brigs and schooners fly. Just go with it. Pretend they're made of super cool anti-gravity wood from Sherwood Forest. Lightning cannons don't need to be re-charged for they are magical and I've no idea how they work. Possibly they are powered by bottle-able Lily!Rage. (I, er, didn't have time to come up with explanations for everything, so I'm just going to refer you to [_The Rule of Cool_](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RuleOfCool).)  
>  Sirius is, of course, unaware that the 'y' in "ye" is the letter [_thorn_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorn_%28letter%29#Middle_and_Early_Modern_English), pronounced 'th'. Remus is, as usual, too soft to correct him.


End file.
